And although I have tried to stay away from the commentaries and focus solely on the suttas I think it's time I go forth into the disciples writings.

This may be a good post to make a sticky if everyone can put down books they think are great as well as a brief introduction to why they are so good.

Examples:

Pa Auk Sayadaw and his work "Knowing and Seeing". A text that details samatha (deep access concentration and the jhanas) as well as a variety of vipassana techniques. Considered the prized text of the Pa Auk Forest Monastery in southern Burma.

Sayadaw U Pandita and his two famous works "The Meaning of Satipatthana" & "The Practical Way To Nibbana". These two books deal thorougly with how this student of mahasi intrepets Satipatthana Sutta and it's practice in vipassana meditation.

Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization, by Analayo (Bhikkhu Anālayo completed Ph.D. thesis on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta)A student of varying schools whos intrest is noted as lying in the compartive studies of early buddhism.

Buddhaghosa and his magnum opus "Visuddhimagga" which is the 'great treatise' on Theravada Buddhist doctrine.

Please only include large texts of standings such as these. Modern and Classic texts are okay as long as they come from a highly "academic" or "advanced" position.

Thanks guys.

(The books can range all topics related to dhamma). And all orthodox schools/teachers are accepted.

Pa Auk Sayadaw and his work "Knowing and Seeing". A text that details samatha (deep access concentration and the jhanas) as well as a variety of vipassana techniques. Considered the prized text of the Pa Auk Forest Monastery in southern Burma.

You may find this book helpful:

Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana By Shaila Catherine

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. - Ajahn Chah

"When you meditate, don't send your mind outside. Don't fasten onto any knowledge at all. Whatever knowledge you've gained from books or teachers, don't bring it in to complicate things. Cut away all preoccupations, and then as you meditate let all your knowledge come from what's going on in the mind. When the mind is quiet, you'll know it for yourself. But you have to keep meditating a lot. When the time comes for things to develop, they'll develop on their own. Whatever you know, have it come from your own mind.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai ... eleft.html

I'm reading "Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond" by Ajahn Brahm at the moment. I wouldn't classify myself as "advanced" but this book seems advanced to me, and he keeps quoting Ajahn Chah so you might like it.